Post Job

Adjunct Instructor salary

Average adjunct instructor salary

$52,030

$25.01 hourly rate

Entry-level adjunct instructor salary
$32,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an adjunct instructor make?

The average adjunct instructor salary in the United States is $52,030. Adjunct instructor salaries typically range between $32,000 and $83,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for adjunct instructors is $25.01 per hour.

Adjunct instructor salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Adjunct instructors earn the highest average salary in California.

On This Page
Adjunct instructor salary by: 

Where can an Adjunct Instructor earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
93k
73k
53k
33k
13k
Ashburn, VA$70,761
Saint Charles, MO$42,804
Compare salary by company
Vs
170k
150k
130k
110k
90k
70k
50k
Kern Community College District$143,119
New Jersey Institute of Technology$80,341

Adjunct Instructor salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and Comparably, the average salary for an adjunct instructor typically falls between $52,030 and $98,966.
zippia
$52,030yearly
glassdoor[1]
$86,780yearly
indeed[2]
$83,584yearly
comparably[3]
$92,202yearly
ZipRecruiter[4]
$84,523yearly
SalaryExpert[5]
$98,966yearly

Average adjunct instructor salary by state

The highest-paying states for adjunct instructors are California, Washington, and New York. The lowest average adjunct instructor salary states are Illinois, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for adjunct instructors

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1New York$66,246$31.85
2Vermont$63,710$30.63
3New Jersey$66,135$31.80
4California$69,711$33.51
5West Virginia$55,702$26.78
6Michigan$59,233$28.48
7Washington$66,832$32.13
8Pennsylvania$56,575$27.20
9Iowa$53,145$25.55
10Massachusetts$58,722$28.23
11Oregon$52,661$25.32
12Wisconsin$55,730$26.79
13New Hampshire$58,939$28.34
14Rhode Island$54,365$26.14
15Alaska$51,678$24.85
16Nevada$52,395$25.19
17Connecticut$58,006$27.89
18District of Columbia$57,462$27.63
19Kentucky$48,715$23.42
20Delaware$54,316$26.11
21Virginia$49,615$23.85
22Alabama$48,523$23.33
23Louisiana$48,191$23.17
24Ohio$49,243$23.67
25Hawaii$55,158$26.52
26Indiana$47,002$22.60
27Utah$48,653$23.39
28Montana$49,086$23.60
29Colorado$47,611$22.89
30North Carolina$47,403$22.79
31Wyoming$47,228$22.71
32Maryland$49,456$23.78
33Minnesota$50,971$24.51
34Mississippi$45,266$21.76
35Idaho$49,542$23.82
36North Dakota$47,807$22.98
37Maine$48,073$23.11
38Nebraska$45,280$21.77
39Arizona$47,163$22.67
40New Mexico$45,691$21.97
41Texas$42,804$20.58
42South Carolina$41,308$19.86
43Arkansas$45,645$21.94
44South Dakota$41,800$20.10
45Georgia$40,410$19.43
46Florida$42,987$20.67
47Kansas$43,414$20.87
48Tennessee$41,632$20.02
49Missouri$42,685$20.52
50Illinois$42,057$20.22
51Oklahoma$40,635$19.54

Highest paying cities for adjunct instructors

The highest-paying cities for adjunct instructors are Bakersfield, CA, New York, NY, and Newark, NJ.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1Bakersfield, CA$70,761$34.02
2New York, NY$66,428$31.94
3Newark, NJ$66,222$31.84
4Detroit, MI$59,483$28.60
5Philadelphia, PA$57,273$27.54
6Milwaukee, WI$55,758$26.81
7Newark, DE$54,332$26.12
8Cedar Rapids, IA$53,427$25.69
9Eugene, OR$52,973$25.47
10Anchorage, AK$51,557$24.79
11Richmond, VA$49,438$23.77
12Athens, OH$49,188$23.65
13Baton Rouge, LA$48,330$23.24
14Durham, NC$48,139$23.14
15Glendale, AZ$47,334$22.76
16Cheyenne, WY$46,271$22.25
17Bradenton, FL$43,669$20.99
18Lawrence, KS$43,435$20.88
19Houston, TX$42,968$20.66
20Saint Charles, MO$42,804$20.58

Adjunct Instructors are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Bakersfield, CA
  2. New York, NY
  3. Newark, NJ
  4. Detroit, MI
  5. Philadelphia, PA

Adjunct Instructor salary details

An adjunct instructor's salary ranges from $32,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $83,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Adjunct Instructor Salary Graph
Average Adjunct Instructor Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an adjunct instructor's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$83,000$6,917$40
75th Percentile$66,000$5,500$32
Average$52,030$4,336$25
25th Percentile$40,000$3,333$19
10th Percentile$32,000$2,667$15

Highest paying adjunct instructor jobs

The highest paying types of adjunct instructors are adjunct professor, adjunct faculty, and adjunct lecturer.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Instructor, Adjunct Faculty$52,225$4,352$25.1137,739
Adjunct Faculty$83,069$6,922$39.9426,791
Learning Center Instructor$33,129$2,761$15.9359,893
College Instructor$50,584$4,215$24.3241,053
Program Instructor$42,380$3,532$20.3892,369
Laboratory Instructor$49,931$4,161$24.0163,100

Which companies pay adjunct instructors the most?

Adjunct instructor salaries at Kern Community College District and Health Alliance are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average adjunct instructor salary at companies like Holy Name Medical Center and New York University are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$54,000$53,200$52,400$51,600$50,800$50,000
MaleFemale

Adjunct Instructor salary trends

The average adjunct instructor salary has risen by $5,596 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average adjunct instructor earned $46,434 annually, but today, they earn $52,030 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for adjunct instructors over the last decade.

Compare adjunct instructor salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average adjunct instructor salary over time

Compare adjunct instructor salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Adjunct Instructor salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2025$52,000$25.01+2.4%
    2024$50,800$24.40+0.3%
    2023$50,600$24.34+1.8%
    2022$49,700$23.90+1.7%
    2021$48,900$23.50+3.6%

    Recently added adjunct instructor salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Southern University SystemAdjunct Instructor-SU College Connect Program at Lsus (Developmental Education Courses)Shreveport, LA12/18/2024$24,000
    Goldey-Beacom CollegeAdjunct Instructor of CompositionDelaware12/17/2024$75,000
    Technical College System of GeorgiaAjunct Instructor-Electrical Technology ProgramAtlanta, GA12/16/2024$26,400
    South Florida State CollegeCosmetology Adjunct Instructor-South Florida State CollegeAvon Park, FL12/16/2024$50,923
    Tarrant County College DistrictAdjunct Instructor-Appliance Repair (Multi-Family Property Maintenance Program) (Non-Credit)Ione, OR12/16/2024$43,618
    Woodmont CompanyAdjunct Instructor-Substance Abuse Counseling/Human Service Provider WcwcRowe, MA12/16/2024$48,314
    Colorado State UniversityAdjunct Instructor-Apparel and MerchandisingFort Collins, CO12/16/2024$50,000
    Rappahannock Community College Educational Foundation, Inc.Machining Adjunct InstructorWestmoreland, NY12/16/2024$62,610
    Palm Beach State CollegeAdjunct Instructor, CCE Drafting-(H)Lake Worth, FL12/15/2024$73,045
    Spartan EducationAMT Adjunct InstructorInglewood, CA12/14/2024$93,915

    Adjunct Instructor salary FAQs

    Search for adjunct instructor jobs

    Browse education, training, and library jobs